Expansion or movable bearings for bridge or other structures.



PATENTED DEC. 6, 1904.

G. WARD.

EXPANSION 0R MOVABLE BEARINGS FOR BRIDGE OR OTHER STRUCTURES.

APPLIGATION FILED JULY 6, 1903.

1510 MODEL.

Ila/enforflw M l/lfrze we)" Patented December 6, 1904:.

ATENT FFICE.

GODFREY WARD, OF BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

EXPANSION 0R MOVABLE BEARINGS FOR BRIDGE OR OTHER STRUCTURES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 776,572, dated December 6, 1904. Application filed July 6, 1903. Serial No. 164,480. (No model.)

To all whom itmay concern.-

Be it known that I, GODFREY WARD, a subject of His Majesty King Edward the Seventh of Great Britain, residing at Birmingham, England, have invented an Improvement in Expansion or Movable Bearings for Bridge or other Structures, (for which I have obtained a provisional patent in Great Britain, No. 919,

bearing date January 14, 1903,) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to expansion or movable bearings for bridges or other structures; and the object of my improvement is to preserve the surfaces of the bearing-plates, rollers, or whatever may be provided to allow for motion from the corrosive eifect of the atmosphere or other agent or agents, which corrosion has heretofore been a source of great trouble and expense in the maintenance of such structures. I attain this object by those means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a typical bearing; Fig. 2, an isometric view of the hearing as it appears after the removal'of the top plate and rollers; Fig. 3, a vertical section of part of the bearing on line 1 2; Fig. 4c, asimilar Vertical section on line 3 4. Fig. 5 is a similar vertical section on line 8 4:, showing the invention with a double flange or wall.

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The flange or side marked a, which is fastened to the bed or base-plate by tap-bolts,

screws, or other methods, the joint between which is made oil or water tight by any suit able jointing material, is continuous round the bearing, forming a tank or trough about the rollers or whatever is provided for motion. This tank or trough when filled with oil, glycerin, or other fluid or grease seals access to and thus preserves the bearing-plates both top and bottom, the rollers, or whatever is provided between the bearing-plates from contact with the air or other corrosive agent, thereby avoiding corrosion. The flange or side may be in one continuous piece around the hearing or may be in several pieces jointed together. The top edge of the flange or side may be above, below, or at the same level as the surface of the top bearing-plate. The flange or side is preferably carried up above the surface of the top bearing-plate, as shown at 7), by which means the surface of the preserving fluid can be maintained at a higher level than the surface of the top bearingplate, thereby immersing and thus scaling from access of corrosive agents and thus protecting the upper surface of the rollers and the surface of the top bearing-plate from corrosion. A weather-shield or flashing is provided on the top bearing-plate, as shown at 0, thereby avoiding the entrance of rain or dirt. As particularly applicable to existing bearings a separate weather-shield may be fastened on the top bearing-plate, as at (Z, the weather-shield in all cases being at such a distance from the flange or side of the tank as to allow for motion.

For large bearings I prefer to use a double flange, the rollers or whatever is provided for expansion not being immersed in the said fluid, but sealed from contact with the outside air or other corroding agent by (in Fig. 5) a flange e, connected to the top bearing-plate and projecting between the two sides a, the space between which is filled with the said fluid.

Any of the different methods or any combination of the different methods herein stated or shown on the accompanying drawings is included in this invention.

An inlet and outlet Withproper means of stopping may be provided to fill or discharge the tank. The side or flange of the tank can be disconnected from the bed-plate, and thereby access is obtained to the interior for examination and cleansing.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination in movable or expansion bearings of a base-plate, top plate, and means, as rollers to allow for motion between them, with a flange or wall fastened to the said base-plate surrounding the said rollers and means to seal the joint between the bearing-surfaces.

2. The combination in movable or expansion bearings of a base-plate, top plate, means, as rollers to allow for motion between them,

sealing material, and a flange or wall surrounding the said rollers with the extension of the said flange or wall above or beyond the bearing-surface of the said top plate.

3. The combination in movable or expansion bearings of a base-plate, top plate, means, as rollers to allow for motion between them, a flange or wall fastened to the said base-plate surrounding the said rollers and the extension of the same above or beyond the bearing-surface of the said top plate with a fluid or semifluid such as oil, glycerin, or grease as a sealing material.

4. The combination in movable or expansion bearings of a base-plate, top plate, means, as rollers to allow for motion between them, a flange or wall surrounding the said rollers,

nesses.

GODFREY WARD. Witnesses:

E. M. WEBB, B. RIDGWAY. 

